A Mississippi Genealogy & History Collection
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Gerry's Genealogy
Tammy and I have a strong interest in genealogy and history, and we've spent years uncovering forgotten stories—digging through dusty library archives, braving cemeteries hidden in the woods, and navigating the quirks of overworked county clerks.
Over time, we've collected a great deal of information, and we’re excited to share it here, along with our own family genealogy. Much of what we’ve gathered centers on central and southern Mississippi, but history has a way of surprising us—you never know what else might turn up.
If you have historical or genealogical information you'd like to contribute, send it to Gerry's Genealogy, and we'll add it to the website.
The recorded history of Mississippi began with the coming of the Europeans. More specifically, with the expedition of Hernando De Soto, who is credited with the discovery of the Mississippi River. However, long before De Soto arrived in the area now known as Mississippi, perhaps as much as 10,000 years earlier, Native Americans inhabited, planted and hunted the land. They navigated the "Father of Waters", fished and built their villages along its shores, and raised countless new generations teaching them each in succession to respect the land and to live in harmony with it.
By the 16th century, there were three predominant Native American tribes living in the area. The Chickasaw occupied the lands in the northern and eastern portions of the state. The powerful Choctaw tribe lived in the central portion of the state ranging northward to the Chickasaw lands in the northwest and southward in the east. The Natchez occupied the lands in Southwestern Mississippi.
With the arrival of the Europeans, the record of Mississippi history began to change and grow rapidly as the new settlers interacted with the natives. The settlers traded with the Native Americans, learned from them about the wildlife and vegetation of this new country, and domesticated the land from which they pushed them. It was the continuation of an old story that would last for another 350 years.
Gerry's Genealogy has many records here on our website. Marriage records, cemetery listings, tombstone photos, and more. Check out the Menu for links to all of the available information.
Birth Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains records of births after November 1, 1912 on file. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official birth records. You can obtain official copies of birth certificates by mail by using this birth record application on their website. If you have to order by internet or phone, or use a credit card, you can use VitalCheck, a third party records company recognized by the Mississippi Dept. of Health. Since there are no official birth records before November 1, 1912 for births prior to that date you will need to determine birth information from census records, bible records, baptismal records, cemetery tombstones, etc.
Death Records - The Mississippi Department of Health maintains deaths recorded after November 1, 1912 on file. This was the year Mississippi began keeping official death records. You can obtain official copies of death certificates by mail by using this death record application on their website. If you just have to order by internet or phone, or use a credit card, you can use VitalCheck, a third party records company recognized by the Mississippi Dept. of Health. Since there are no official death records...
